Sunday, 20 April 2014

The Duchy of Bavaria-Straubing was next on the Herzog
von Steirermark’s list of acquisitions. Assembling an army, stiffened with
Swiss mercenaries they marched along the Danube toward Passau. Scouts returned informing
his Lordship, the Bavarians were “a-waiting his presence” north of Passau. So much for stealth.

To confront the gathering storm from Steirermark, the
Grand Duke gathered loyal Bavarians from the domains of Landshut, München and Ingolstadt.

Deployed to meet the Austrians, the Grand Duke held the centre with the majority of infantry and the reserve.
To the right, Albrecht, his nephew commanded a mobile force supported with halberdier
and handgunners. The left flank was held by Cousin Rudolf with a similar but
smaller force.

Ahead, the Grand Duke could see clearly the Swiss on the right
and to the left, a large formation of Austrian knights. The infantry in centre were numbered less than his own, but these were flanked by crossbowmen and more worrisome,
cannon.

Bound one.

The Swiss yodeled their way forward and to annoy their
enemy throughout their LH. Both formations of Austrians moved forward. As per
plan, the Grand Duke moved his center forward with both wings held slightly
back. It was hoped that weight of numbers would break the Austrian line where
it met the Swiss.

Bound two.

A low die cast for the Austrians brought on a moment
of hesitation. In this moment, reserve units were moved closer toward the main
battle line. Unperturbed, the Swiss moved forward, while the artillery was
still getting their range.

As the Austrians were less willing to move, the Bavarians
brought the fight to them. Bavarian spearmen pushed their center line back,
while other troops rallied to move forward and support the center. Now in range
of artillery and crossbow, the Austrians were recoiling from fire storm.

Bound three.

Swiss pike and blade formations were pressing forward. The Swiss commander setting an example, lead the dance. The music, played false, the Swiss general fell sending a loud cheer among the Bavarian ranks. In the centre and right flank, the Austrians wriggled enough to deliver the first Bavarian casualties.

The Bavarians on the right seized the moment to knock
about the broken formation, demoralizing the Swiss. In the centre, the
Bavarians stabilized their line. On the left, losing two crossbow units, the
Bavarians took advantage of the confusion to bring a unit of knight down.

Bound four

The Swiss, despite losing their general remained
steadfast like a wall. At the Austrian centre, the clash of spear delivered
another enemy unit, bringing the Bavarian total to 3 lost. The combat between
knights on the right flank created only dust as units moved back and forth. The
Bavarians on their turn were grinding the Swiss down to half the number they
started with. In centre, the combat along the line delivered no results,
perhaps due to fatigue, however, from the Bavarian left a loud cry was heard as
their general bested the Austrian commanders. With both flanks demoralised, the
Grand Duke ordered a retreat.

On a positive, the Grand Duke would save money paying
less Swiss.

Epilogue

It has been a while since my Late Medieval armies have
made an appearance. The practice game was actually a prelude to the same game being
scheduled for later this month between two keen players.

With the exception of the Swiss, the composition of
troops was identical; Kn, Cv, Bd, Cb and Sp. Although the Austrians outgunned
the Bavarians in artillery, the “solid” foot helped the Bavarians. Flank
support worked well and Ps handgunners did excellent work keeping the Swiss
pike occupied.